Russian Interference & Trump Administration Actions

We know that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election to support the Trump campaign, and we know that law enforcement and security agencies of the U.S. government have opened investigations into that interference. A special counsel has been appointed to investigate, but it is time for the administration to start telling the truth.

Last updated: December 13, 2017

Topic: National Security |
Status: Active

American Oversight launched an investigation to get straight answers to some of the most pressing, non-classified questions about how the Trump administration has conducted itself in the face of these Russian interference allegations.

Trump Tower Wiretapping Allegations

On September 1, 2017, the Department of Justice and the FBI officially confirmed that President Trump had lied when he tweeted that former President Obama had “wiretapped” him at Trump Tower. The admission came in a DOJ filing in response to American Oversight’s FOIA lawsuit seeking any records related to the alleged wiretapping.

The controversy began when President Trump tweeted on March 4, 2017 that former President Obama had placed wiretaps on Mr. Trump and entities or associates in Trump Tower for improper purposes during the course of the 2016 presidential campaign.

Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my “wires tapped” in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!

When asked about the basis for Mr. Trump’s assertions, the White House stated, “He’s the president of the United States. He has information and intelligence that the rest of us do not.”

Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ Russian Contacts & Recusal

American Oversight sued the Federal Bureau of Investigation to obtain the page of Sessions’ security clearance application on which he was required to list any foreign government contacts. The form showed that Sessions failed to disclose his contacts with the Russian government – and that he signed the form attesting that he understood the penalty for making false statements.

American Oversight is representing People For the American Way (PFAW) in their lawsuit to find out if the FBI really advised Sessions to admit his Russian contacts from his security clearance application like he claims.

Separately, American Oversight is seeking documents related to Sessions’ decision to recuse himself from matters related to the 2016 campaign. On March 2, 2017, the Washington Post reported that Sessions would recuse himself from investigations related the campaign, but apart from Sessions’s initial statement to the press, we don’t know exactly what this recusal includes because the formal document has never been released to the public.

Firing of FBI Director James Comey

On May 9, 2017, President Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, ostensibly over Comey’s actions during the 2016 presidential campaign. Trump administration officials gave multiple, conflicting explanations for the firing – culminating with President Trump explicitly stating that he made the decision to fire Comey because the FBI was continuing to investigate connections between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Political Interference at the FBI

According to news reports, former White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus had contacted the FBI in February to ask the agency “to publicly knock down media reports about communications between Donald Trump’s associates and Russians known to US intelligence during the 2016 presidential campaign.” Such contact would be in violation of longstanding principles preventing political interference with law enforcement proceedings – and American Oversight has sued the DOJ and FBI to release any records of Priebus’s communications regarding this issue.